by Jen Silverman

‘Everybody just stared at them and loved them and wanted to be them – but nobody was.’

Betty is rich; Betty is lonely; Betty’s busy working on her truck; Betty wants to talk about love, but Betty needs to hit something. Meanwhile, Betty decides to stage a production of that play-within-a-play from…what’s it called again? Summer’s Midnight Dream? In Collective Rage, the lives of five very different New York women named Betty collide at the intersection of anger, sex and “theat-ah.” As they meet, fall in love, rehearse, revel and rage, they realise that they’ve been stuck reading the same scripts for far too long.

Hitting the ring with an electrifying soundtrack, looks to kill and spectacular routines, this outrageous comedy packs the punch to shatter lacquered femininity into a thousand glittering pieces. Strongly influenced by cabaret and female drag, this exquisite rejection of shame and stereotype will punch you in the gut, break your heart and then take you dancing.

Antic Face and Nik Holttum Productions are proud to present this UK première of award-winning American Playwright Jen Silverman. Following the critically acclaimed run of School Play last year, Antic Face and Nik Holttum Productions return to Southwark Playhouse with this joyously anarchic new show.

‘My PUSSY is not gonna do the acting, I am gonna do the acting. In THE THEA-TAH. People are gonna come and stare at my feelings, and those feelings will be Art.’

★★★★★ ‘Beautifully crafted to deconstruct the society in which it exists… admirably fierce and triumphantly queer.’ London Theatre 1

★★★★ ‘It’s a glorious, rollicking riot of a play which pushes absurdity to the limit – but never at the cost of its soppy human heart.’ The Arts Desk

‘Wickedly funny… a swaggering production.’ The Guardian

Praise for Jen Silverman:
‘Slyly subversive… Silverman is an emerging talent to be reckoned with.’ – L.A. Times

‘Silverman is not only a fresh voice who takes chances, but also a playwright who plumbs the depth of humanity without sentimentality.’ – New Haven Register

DIVA – Official Media Partner.

Creative Team

DirectorCharlie Parham

ProducersEmma Hall
Nik Holttum

Assistant ProducerLexi Clare

DesignerAnna Reid

Sound Designer & ComposerHollie Buhagiar

Lighting DesignerZoe Spurr

ChoreographerNicola Treherne

CastingClaudia Blunt

Stage Manager/Production ManagerCat Compson

Deputy Stage ManagerSophie Mason

Costume SupervisorLily O’Hara

Design PlacementAlice Stephenson

Cast

Betty 1Sara Stewart

Betty 2Lucy McCormick

Betty 3Beatriz Romilly

Betty 4Johnnie Fiori

Betty 5Genesis Lynea

Provoking Rage: Writers’ Panel – Friday 26 January @ 9.15pm

‘I want to rip someone’s throat out. I want to tear someone’s heart muscle out with my bare hands. I am not interested in crying.’

The state of the world is enraging, but the last year has demonstrated that female anger is beginning to change the world. A pervasive and insidious culture of sexual harassment has been laid bare, suppressed anger unleashed on a global scale and a spotlight shone on the structures that enable the silencing of women. In art, so much of the culture we produce cannot even pass the Bechdel Test and does not yet reflect the reality of both women’s interiority and our relationships with each other.

A panel of inspiring writers including Rebecca Crookshank, Abi Zakarian, Matilda Ibini, Koko Brown and Yolanda Mercy discuss playwriting in the current climate – rage, exploding female stereotypes and the vital responsibility to write new narratives.

Purple Snowflakes And Titty Wanks – Saturday 27 January @ 9.15pm

‘The habit creeps up on me out of nowhere, like a sheep on a country road in Limerick.’

Purple Snowflakes And Titty Wanks is a vibrant story of survival, a fearless example of semi-autobiographical storytelling and Irish humour. We follow Sarah as she navigates her way through grief, drunken nights, and a variety of sexual exploits in a hilarious and heart-breaking one-woman show about mental illness, sexuality, and friendship.

After sold-out runs at the Maiden Speech festival, Above The Arts Cabaret Club and Leicester Square Theatre, Purple Snowflakes And Titty Wanks is back for one night only as part of Collective Rage’s Second Half season.

Purple Snowflakes And Titty Wanks is written and performed by Sarah Hanly, and directed by Alice Fitzgerald.

Hosted by Tessa Hart, Artistic Director of The Bread & Roses Theatre, this panel discussion celebrates extraordinary women working behind-the-scenes in technical, stage management, design and producing roles. Join us as we shine a spotlight on women succeeding in traditionally male-dominated roles and reflect on the challenges they face in the theatre industry. Panel guests include Jess Davies, Helen Coyston and Natalie Braid.

Q+A With Cast and Director – Tuesday 30 January @ 9.15pm

Can’t get enough of Betty? Step inside the world of Collective Rage in this live Q+A with director Charlie Parham and the cast. Join us after the show and have all your questions answered as to how our team took Collective Rage from page to stage.

Sketch & Musical Comedy – Saturday 3 Feb @ 4.45pm

Join us for an afternoon of sketch and musical comedy from brilliant, award-winning female comedy acts. Headlining the event is sketch group Muriel (winners of both the 2017 So You Think You’re Funny sketch competition and the 2017 Leicester Square Sketch-Off), who are joined by musical comedy duo Stiff & Kitsch and talented musical comedy newcomer Charlotte Brooke.

Muriel
‘Telegenic and versatile, and with a striking stage presence, Muriel seems to have the potential to be the new Smack The Pony. And you can’t give much higher praise than that.’ Chortle
‘Muriel are taking the social media platform by storm.’ Evening Standard‘Pure comedy genius.’ Secret London

Stiff & Kitsch
★★★★★ ‘Hysterical… These two are a pair to watch out for!’ West End Wilma
★★★★★ ‘Witty and clever.’ Broadway World

Spoken Word Evening – Monday 5 February @ 9.15pm

Nel King (director of New Word Order) curates a dynamic, playful and explosive evening of spoken word performance, one of the UK’s fastest-growing artforms. Centred around themes of gender and sexuality, the line up features established artists and poets alongside some of London’s brightest emerging talent. Performers include Maria Ferguson, Scarlett Sabet, Roxane Bourges and Nel King.

Join the hosts of feminist podcast Heroine Addicts for a one-off live recording celebrating women in theatre.
At a time when the fight for gender equality in the arts feels more important than ever – whether it’s creating more roles for women, campaigning for equal pay, ensuring creative environments are free from abuse and harassment, or seeing women in positions of power – it’s time to take a moment to celebrate women in theatre. Groundbreaking performances by women in history. The women who paved the way to the stage. What the future of theatre might look like in women’s hands.

Heroine Addicts: Four women. One microphone. Celebrating girl power one story at a time. Heroine Addicts is a podcast that puts women (including trans-women and those who identify as female) and their stories centre stage, produced and co-hosted by Louise Bastock, Miztli Rose Neville, Emma Pritchard and Alice Robinson. Celebrating a new heroine every episode, Heroine Addicts is a podcast about one-of-a-kind narratives, the women we wanted to be when we grew up, fictional and historic, past and present.

Stand Up Comedy – Monday 12 February @ 9.15pm

A raucously entertaining evening from three of London’s most exciting up-and- coming female comedians: Chloe Petts, Rosie Holt and Janine Harouni. Fresh from the final of Leicester Square Theatre’s New Comedian Of The Year competition, they’re bringing fierce, funny female voices to Southwark Playhouse. Don’t miss out on some of the brightest young talents on the comedy scene as they grapple with everything from politics to sexuality.

Rage Response: New Writing Night – Tuesday 13 February @ 9.15pm

‘I always need to be thinking about the orphans and the hanta virus and the dying rainforests, because I have become the voice of a generation and my generation has a lot to say, even if we don’t spell very well.’

Rage Response is a writing initiative that invites this generation of playwrights to create brand new work in response to Collective Rage. Four ten-minute plays will be selected to be staged in the final week of Collective Rage as part of our Second Half season.

Please email Lexi at lexiclareuk@gmail.com for more information and to submit.